We want to voice our appreciation for the Hills­boro City Council, who voted against the beer garden at the Demo Derby at the Marion County Fair. Ser­ving alcoholic beverages publicly would be setting a new standard for our community.

We noticed that the Marion County Sub­stance Abuse Prevention Council ran good-sized ads in the Free Press and Hillsboro Star-Journal last week. The ad says “alcohol hurts.” We need to pull together and send the right signal to our youth and to maintain a community image of encouraging abstinence for a reason.

We need to encourage our police, who have to deal with the problems that can be connected with alcohol consumption.